Innocence

In a Time magazine article on April 26, 1999 entitled, "Of Myth and Men" the author makes a startling statement....

"The central ethic of our culture has been the Bible...But

the Bible no longer occupes that central place in our

culture today. Young people in particular are turning to

movies for their inspiration not to organized religion."

When I read that my mind was taken back to a story that I read in Resident Aliens, Life in the Christian Colony, by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon.

Willimon describes his early boyhood days in Greenville, South Carolina and the mischief of early adolescents. He relates a warm Sunday evening in 1963 when the Fox Theatre opened its doors in defiance of the state's blue laws. Along with six of his buddies they entered the front door of the Methodist Youth Fellowship but slipped out the back door to "join John Wayne" at the Fox.

He says that evening was "a watershed in the history of Christendom, South Carolina style."

He goes on to say, "on that night, Greenville, South Carolina-the last pocket of resistance to secularity in the Western world-served notice that it would not longer be a prop for the church."

On that night the Fox Theatre went head to head with the church over who would provide the world view for the young.

"That night in 1963, the Fox Theatre won the opening skirmish."

All of this made me think...young people today are being shaped by external forces. Their worldview is being formed by factors that were not in play in 1963.

What is the church doing and saying today that shapes the world view of those that fill the seats on Sunday?

Youthful innocence today is often jaded by the press of cultural forces and vices. My prayer is that the church will celebrate the Kingdom of God in such a way that people of all ages will bask in the aroma of His glory.

What do you see from your perspective?